One of Britain’s most prominent Muslims, a former NHS interfaith worker, has been sentenced to death in Bangladesh for crimes committed during the country’s war of independence more than 40 years ago.

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, a co-founder of the Muslim Council of Great Britain, is one of two men convicted by a special war crimes tribunal in Dhaka of the abduction and murder of 18 intellectuals during the nation’s bloody war of independence with Pakistan.

“Justice will not be done if they are not awarded capital punishment,” Judge Obaidul Hassan told the court after prosecutors described Mr Mueen-Uddin as a “high